CBP officer charged with assault over treatment of protester outside Colorado ICE facility
Summary
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, Nicholas Rice, has been charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief after a protester accused him of using a chokehold during a protest outside an ICE facility in Durango, Colorado. The Colorado Bureau of Investigations started the inquiry after concerns that the officer might have broken state laws banning chokeholds.Key Facts
- The incident happened during a protest in October over the detention of Colombian asylum-seekers.
- Protester Franci (Anne Francesca) Stagi said the officer grabbed her by the hair, put her in a chokehold, and pulled her across the street.
- Bystander videos show Rice grabbing and pulling Stagi, but court documents do not mention the chokehold specifically.
- Rice faces charges of third-degree assault (a misdemeanor) and criminal mischief for damaging Stagi’s cellphone.
- Stagi reported ongoing pain in her arm from the encounter.
- Colorado banned chokeholds and neck restraints after George Floyd’s death in 2020 as part of police reform.
- Federal law protects officers in many cases, but legal experts say this protection is not unlimited.
- The case highlights the tensions between state laws limiting police force and the protections given to federal agents.
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